First Swede Convicted For File-Sharing Now Cleared

Caine writes, "A 29-year old Swede, who was the first to be convicted under last year's new file-sharing laws, has been cleared on appeal. The court of appeal did not consider the screen dumps provided by the Antipiracy Bureau enough evidence to be able to convict the man. Since the crime does not carry a high enough punishment under Swedish law to allow for a search of the defendant's house, this means it will be virtually impossible to prove file-sharing crimes in the future."

Re:I'm off to Sweden

[MrZilla]

I don't think not knowing Swedish will be a major problem for anyone wanting to move here. Might be a little inconvenient, but almost the entire population speaks passable English, so as long as you don't mind weird grammar and funny accents, you should be ok.

Re:I'm off to Sweden

[Anonymous Coward]

As an American living in Sweden I can say... IT IS THAT EASY :). Been here a year and have picked up some Swedelish, but it is hardly required learning.

Hej Då, Y'all.

Re:Cleared

[gomiam]

Actually, the non-profit part of it is quite important in several European countries. (Spanish example) Instead of the "fair-use" clause used in the USA, there's a right to private copy that allows people to duplicate intellectual works subject to author rights (that means copyright and a few more things) unless it damages the author _and_ is done for profit. As long as it is done with no money gain intended, it is (last time I read) legal to do so.

Re:The ads on TFA say it all

[eddy]

I wouldn't say that. Speaking for myself, my spoken English is absolutely atrocious (never have much of a reason to practice it), but I do believe Scandinavians are good at understanding both written and spoken English, so if you're touristing here making yourself understood isn't much of a problem. There is an age barrier here; some eldery never learned English -- my grandmother for instance hardly knows a word.

There's always the Mastering Swedish [slayradio.org] if you want to pick some of it up :-)

Also, some say alcohol helps. This is probably why the Finns are beter at English?

Re:I'm off to Sweden

[TheRealSync]

There is more to life than money. Even if the government confiscates a large portion of your income, you're still guaranteed to live a very comfortable, productive, and enjoyable lifestyle.

I don't disagree, I just wouldn't call it confiscation - the money goes back to the community, and ensures everyone has equal access to health care, education, and so on and so forth.
I happen to like that (living in Denmark, which has a social structure that pretty much resembles the swedish, coming from a low-income family, but still being able to choose the education I wanted, without ever worrying whether my family would be able to aford it).

Re:I'm off to Sweden

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh well...

Most people in Sweden DO speak English (at least around 95% [www.scb.se] of people with higher education can read it). This together with the fact that Uppsala University [wikipedia.org] is the oldest university in Scandinavia kind of render your language barrier argument to void.

Tax however is a completely different matter...

Re:I'm off to Sweden

[TheJollyBob]

Why not take a look at www.sweden.se ? Especially at 'About Sweden'->'Fact Sheets'->'Working and Living'. ... and by the way: welcome ... :-)

Re:What the fuck???

[Veamon]

The point of those laws, though, is to keep law enforcement from taking over the state and guaranteeing rights. It works for and against you. Ever hear of the Bill of Rights and Search and Seizure? The law enforcement officers are supposed to be familiar with this, and do their best to not take matters into their own hands become judge, jury and executioner..

You're not an ACLU member I guess...

[Lactoso]

Presumption of innocence [wikipedia.org] is one of the main tenets of our legal system and an underlying theme throughout the US's bill of rights. Take particular notice of the 4th amendment [wikipedia.org] which PROTECTS US citizens against "unreasonable searches and seizures".

Any governing body, given insufficient oversight, will subvert its charter - usually not to the benefit of the governed. Without the checks and balances of the law, we would be subject to the very conditions which kindled the American Revolution. Are you really saying that as a Canadian, you're happy with writs of assistance [wikipedia.org] and their abuses?

Police are expected to pursue their duties with great zeal. There must be irrefutable parameters from which within they operate. Otherwise, this same zeal will lead them to unintentional abuse of the very people they are charged with protecting.

"It is better to allow 99 guilty men go free than to convict 1 innocent man". Then again, it appears that habeas corpus may no longer apply [aclu.org]. :-(

Enjoy your rights now boys, 'cause they're running out quick...

Re:cost to benefits?

[Anonymous Coward]

In Sweden, your retirement fund is fully paid for by taxes, University tuition is free, and daycare is very heavily subsidized. If you're a regular guy like like me with kids, that adds up! Plus of course healthcare is free, and despite what the parent poster said, it's actually quite good.

Plus you get at least 6 weeks vacation per year.

There are other oddities too which a lot of Swedes won't notice or miss until they live somewhere else for awhile. For example, there's the everyman's right, [wikipedia.org] and as you can see from this slashdot story, stuff like civil rights and privacy laws are taken very seriously.

The taxes also buy you neutrality, which has kept Sweden out of wars since 1814.

Re:cost to benefits?

[Anonymous Coward]

I lived and worked in Sweden for a few years and the tax system there has clearly run completely amok.
And - no - you don't get what you pay for.
I had an employee who was in the top 10% tax bracket in Sweden (which meant we first paid 30-35% on his gross, then he paid 60 % on the remainder as income tax). One day, he called me from the hospital (he'd had an accident - had smashed a tooth) - he needed an advance on his pay since the dentist would not admit him if he could not pay the fee up front (they thought he wouldnt be able to pay the bill). Since the tax is so high - virtually no one can save any money to speak of and subsequently, he did not have the 600 EUR cash they needed up front.
At this time, I felt it appropriate to point out (to the hospital) that I though health care would be free in Sweden - they said: Yes - its free. So I asked, why do you need 600 EUR then ? They said: It's a "service charge".
I'm sorry - but theres no way in hell I can accept that the scenario above could happen in a country that provide free healthcare.

Also, the Swedes are now experiencing a purchasing power that is dropping like a stone. Last time I checked the purchasing power of the average Swede was in 18th place (in the OECD ranking) - just passing Portugal on the way down.

The Swedes also seem extremely adept at convincing themself that they are really well off (which they're not).
I'm happy I didn't stay there for long.

It's really nice to visit during the summer though. Lots of beautiful blondes, everything is cheap (if you're not getting paid in Sweden, that is), people are nice etc.